Teachers working in municipal schools in Chile have been in a strike for over a month now. The strike called by the Colegio de Profesores (CP), the Chilean National Teachers Association, began on June 1, 2015 as a way of expressing their opposition to the Carrera Docente Bill (the Teacher’s Career Bill). The bill is part of a national reform proposal in education that encompasses several areas of education, including:
- regulating profit and student selection in schools subsidized by the state,
- creation of the Subsecretariat for Early Childhood Education,
- legislating a national teacher policy,
- defining the structure for the de-municipalization of education, and
- legislating a national policy for funding free higher education.
After approving the law that regulates the admission of students and profit in schools that receive state funding (Law #20.845), the government led by President Michelle Bachelet decided to continue the reform agenda with the legislation of a national teacher policy. The bill intended to define among other elements new teachers certification requirements, a teacher evaluation processes, a salary scale, and teacher workload. Teachers, as well as other members of society, have expressed their opposition to this bill through social demonstrations. Teachers are insisting that the bill be withdrawn, arguing that the legislative proposal maintains the individualistic, competitive, and market-driven logic that has prevailed in education, and generates no substantive positive changes. The Education Commission of the Chamber of Deputies formed a dialogue table and teachers acceded to talk to legislators in this tripartite table in mid-June. On June 27, the President named a new Minister of Education, Adriana Delpiano, who declared her willingness to dialogue with teachers but stressed that the government will not withdraw the bill. On June 30, the tripartite table at the Education Commission resumed its work. Teachers are expected to reevaluate the continuity of the strike.
—Victoria Parra
For more information on this issue:
Carrera Docente Bill Does Not Meet Chilean Teacher’s Expectations | I Love Chile News http://buff.ly/1IU63Om
El Mostrador – El primer diario digital de Chile – Noticias, reportajes, multimedia y último minuto. http://buff.ly/1IU6bNS
Las críticas del Colegio de Profesores al Plan Nacional Docente « Diario y Radio Uchile http://buff.ly/1TuMRts
Chilean striking teachers take to the streets; million students with no classes — MercoPress http://buff.ly/1TuMT4C
Change of Chile Education Minister Could End University Strike | News | teleSUR English http://buff.ly/1TuMTSk
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